


Little do you know

by Vaniwa



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-29 00:51:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6352336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vaniwa/pseuds/Vaniwa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anissa and her best friend Naomi meet up with Rick's group under the most gruesome circumstances. Permitted to stay at Alexandria, there is one particular person she knows best to communicate with. He's a complex person full of mystery she would love to explore. But how much is too much? Can you truly still be happy in a world like this? [DarylxOC]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A new beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing except my mistakes. Also, the events take place from season six and onward. A little warning: I write about the main events from the season, and so sometimes I'll stick very close to the show, yet I'll try to manipulate the scene as best as I can to include my OC in it. Especially in the first few chapters will I stay close to the show. When it's more appropriate to turn the events a bit, I will stick more to my own events until another important event from the show is brought up. If you don't like that, then I suggest to not read this story. If you don't mind, however, I hope you'll enjoy!

They ran as fast as they could, making sure to stay deeper into the woods as they caught eyes of a street filled with a never-ending row of walkers. Anissa winced as she brought her hand to her left forearm. The wetness of the blood pouring out fell down on her hand, and she mentally cursed the branches for cutting her open.

 

A loud scream had them all coming to a halt, and Anissa looked quickly around her, trying to find the source of the screaming but couldn't find anything. “Look!” Her brother Jake whispered and pointed into the distance. There, right next to the road, they saw a man getting bitten by a walker.

 

Naomi whimpered on her right side, her blonde hair, which hung in loose waves just over her shoulders, was pushed to the back as she desperately looked away from the man. “We've got to do something.” Anissa whispered, and went to move to the man but got pulled back by her father. “Are you insane? He's long gone.” He angrily whispered in return, earning him an angry scowl from his daughter. “I can't just wait here and do nothing!” Jake interfered just before an argument was starting to arise, focusing their attention back on the bitten man.

 

“Yes, you can. See?” He said, wiping the dripping sweat on his forehead away with the back of his hand, his brown hair shimmering in the sun due to all the wetness. Anissa let her eyes glide back to the man, and saw a white man with curly brown hair, a dark man and a dark woman with dreads hurrying over to the man. The man with the curly brown hair had seemed to reach him first, desperately trying to quiet him, and eventually did the necessary thing: killing him.

 

Another loud set of screams had her head turning to the left as she frighteningly looked at the two walkers attacking both her brother and father. Their mouths desperately clung to their heads, their teeth ripping their skin off in fair ease, causing the screams to grow even louder.

 

Tears fell down her cheeks before she even realized it, but she couldn't move no matter how hard she tried. Blood was streaming down their bodies, organs dripping out. It was too gruesome to even look at, and she didn't even have the opportunity to grief as Naomi was clinging onto her right arm in fear, sobbing madly.

 

Naomi had been her best friend for more than seventeen years now, but she had always been easily scared. She was always rather jumpy, and it intensified with the apocalypse. Which brought along great consequences, for they could easily be given away by her sobbing or whimpering.

 

The sound of footsteps had her wheeling around, her hand reaching for her knife out of instinct, but she let her hand drop as she saw the people from before approaching. Without hesitation they put a knife through the walkers' heads, and before she even could protest, through the skulls of her family.

 

Hopelessly she looked at her father, the one who had been protecting them all from the start, watched how he now dropped to the ground with a loud thud, his entire head ripped open. Then a second later, Jake fell just as blooded and wounded to the ground, lifeless as one could be. So many childhood memories of them flashed through her head, but all of those seemed distant. The situation felt too surreal to acknowledge the truth. They couldn't be dead. They simply couldn't be.

 

The dark haired woman with the dreads ran to Naomi, whispering soothing words in the hope to quiet her down. To some extent it worked, but the sudden gunfire that was heard, got her jumping and whimpering once more.

 

Anissa vaguely watched the walkers turn around and walk back to the source of the sound, leaving the little group of people in the woods be. “Listen, it's not safe out here right now. We must hurry.” The curly haired man spoke up and Anissa turned her head in surprise to the man, watching his sweaty face and his blood stained shirt. “Where is it that we're off to?” She managed to choke out, trying not to let her gaze drop to the floor, not wanting to see the dead bodies of the ones she loved.

 

Not just yet was she ready to be confronted with the truth. The curly haired man seemed to be exchanging quick glances with his companions before he answered her question. “We have a safe place to live, but in order to maintain the safety, we must lure the walkers away.” He said and nodded to the road behind them.

 

In a hushed voice he spoke to the others, an Asian man that had joined along with a couple of others waiting in the distance. They nodded in understanding and took off, leaving the three of them behind. “Follow me.” The man said and ran ahead, but Anissa remained rooted to the spot.

 

They were with so many people, and even though they did just save their lives from many more walkers, how could they be so sure they could trust him? The apocalypse had been going on for over two years by now, and people changed for the worse over those two years. The dead had become more trust worthy than the living.

 

Yet, a nagging voice told her that it was okay. And even if it wasn't, what did they really have to lose? The only reason they had managed to make it out there was because of her family. They had given her the strength and motivation to survive. But what was the point of this all without her father and brother around?

 

And thus, she nudged Naomi and tried to give her a comforting smile, noticing how her green eyes had completely teared up. Grabbing her friend's hand, they ran behind the man and followed him onto the road. A red old rusty car filled with two people was slowly leading the horde, with a man on a motorcycle next to it.

 

There was something threatening about him that warned her to stay away from him as far as possible. Yet, she also knew that if you managed to get on his good side, you'd have a friend for life. One who would kill and die for you. And that's what soothed her nerves slightly.

 

“One of you will get in the car, and the other will have to join Daryl on his motorcycle. What's your name, darling?” The man asked Naomi, who cleared her throat softly as she kept her voice down, as not to rile the walkers. “Naomi Dawn.” She whispered loud enough for him to hear. “Nice to meet you, Naomi. I'm Rick Grimes. The man in the car is Abraham, and the woman behind the wheel is Sasha. You'll be in good hands.”

 

“And you?” Rick said, turning to Anissa who in turn nervously looked at the group of walkers as she walked backwards, trying to keep her distance from them just like the other two were doing. “I'm Anissa Leron.” She then turned to Naomi, who looked as pale as if she was dead, and sighed as the words left her lips. “'Nay, why don't you take the car?” Anissa suggested with a small smile and Naomi nodded gratefully in return, allowing Rick to guide her to it.

 

Waiting for him to return, she wondered aloud as she watched the empty space in the car. “Why is it that I can't join?” She asked suspiciously, wondering why he was separating them. “We have a bag of weapons in the car.” He shortly informed, looking around him and reaching for his walkie talkie, briefly explaining the situation to the man on the motorcycle, whose name she believed to be Daryl, and to the two people in the car.

 

The reluctance on Daryl's face of having to take her behind on his motorcycle wasn't hidden as he sped up slightly, creating enough distance between them and the horde for her to get on it without getting bitten. “Hold on tight.” The southern drawl was beyond unexpected, and so she warily, and rather awkwardly let her arms encircle his waist, watching Rick disappear back into the woods.

 

Her heart was beating faster than it had ever done before, as the deafening growling was closing in on her. The smell of dead bodies hitting her nostrils badly, fingers trying to reach her body, scraping just over the side of her black jeans.

 

The vehicles went tediously slow, but as long as they were safe, she didn't mind as much. Looking to her left and through the window, she watched Naomi gazing in front of her, obviously trying to ignore the many walkers behind her.

 

A horn was loudly filling the area, making the walkers drift apart as some were going back into the woods, leaving the long line they were trying so desperately to keep together.

 

Daryl's voice got her attention as he communicated with Rick over his walkie talkie, which she couldn't quite hear what was being said. It was for that reason, why it took her beyond by surprise as they sped up after a discussion between the people in the car and Daryl.

 

Angry voices were heard through the window, and Anissa wondered if she should ask about it, but shrugged it off as she realized that knowing it or not, there was little she could do with the information.

 

And so she let the cool breeze of the wind gliding over her face, cooling her body down and relaxing her nerves as they now had a good distance of the horde of walkers that was previously so close behind her.

 

“What happened back there?” Daryl suddenly asked, making her head turn so she was now looking at the back of his head. His brown hair was wet and sticky, yet just a few hairs were still swaying gently with the wind, creating a gentle flow. Her grip on his waist tightened as he made a sharper turn. Feeling the leather underneath her fingers, the heat of his body radiating off of him, she was slowly warming up once more herself.

 

The images of blood splashing everywhere, chunks of flesh being ripped out of her father's face, her brother's entire upper body being ripped open protruded her mind and she quickly shook her head in the hope to make the thoughts go away. “I don't want to talk about it.” Her voice came out weak as she tried her best to focus her thoughts on the present moment and instead let it fill with worries over her best friend, wondering if she would be okay.

 

The back of the head bobbed slightly, and she took that as his understanding. Watching the trees flash by, her curiosity did take over as she now turned to look at the man once more, observing the wings on his leather jacket. “Where is that you're going to?” Anissa asked loud enough for him to hear, and waited patiently for his answer.

 

“Daryl?” The voice over the walkie cut his answer off as he went to answer it, the motorcycle wobbling for just a second as one hand left the wheel. “I'm here.” His raspy voice answered, and the voice, which she assumed to belong to Rick replied unintelligible, saying things she couldn't quite hear.

 

Another woman's voice spoke, sounding accusing, but the wind blocked the words from reaching her ears. The only thing she could make out was “our way”, but didn't particularly know what she could do with that piece of information. Daryl, however, remained silence to what she said and kept on riding forwards, to a place she couldn't look thanks to his body.

 

Rick started talking once more, the words failing to reach her ears, but his voice sounded motivating, with the slightest spark of hope. This intrigued Anissa – how even through the circumstances he still managed to sound so hopeful, so powerful in a way. Which got her wondering if it was perhaps him that was leading the group. The line got quiet once more, letting her thoughts wander off to where their safe-zone might be.

 

But all those thoughts got pushed aside when she heard sudden gunshots over the walkie. The motorcycle briefly wobbled once more as Daryl's hand shot up to the walkie, “Rick?” His voice came out questioning, but soon turned into worry as he exclaimed a “Rick!” once more.

 

Without warning, he sped up, causing her to lose balance and take a death grip on his waist, her head flinging forward and resting against his back. Anissa was now starting to feel highly awkward, leaning into a man she just met and didn't know anything about except for his name. Yet, she didn't dare loosen her grip, or leaning her head back in fear of completely losing her balance and falling off the motorcycle.

 

They rode in rapid speed over a long road, surrounded by mainly grass and forests, approaching a T-junction, where on the left side she could make out the long line of walkers behind the red leading car. Only now did she realize, as she looked into the far distance and could only make out walkers, how many they were actually leading away. And the importance to them of the walkers not reaching their home.

 

Daryl made a right turn, advancing just slightly on the red car as his speed slowed down greatly, allowing her to retreat from his back and to loosen her grip on his waist. Anissa looked back over her shoulder as best as she could without falling off the motorcycle, and rested her eyes on the blonde haired girl who seemed beyond relief to see her return.

 

Shooting a reassuring glance at Naomi, she turned her head back around and carefully let one hand go of his waist as she brought it up to her forehead, wiping away the cold drops of sweat and felt the back of her hair to make sure her ponytail was in place, not wanting her long hair to be in the way.

 

Placing her hand back around his waist, her eyes dropped down and took in the blood stains on her deep green pocket t-shirt, knowing that the fresh blood belonged to her very own family members.

 

_Giggling she ran with her short legs over the grass in their backyard, her dark brown hair swaying gently behind her as she looked over her shoulder and watched her brother chasing her with an equal grin on his face. Tripping over her own feet, she fell face to the floor, tears welling up in her eyes from shock._

 

_Jake rushed to her side, not older than six as she was at the time only four years old, his hands falling gently on her painful knees as he leaned down to place gentle kisses on them. Anissa smiled tearfully at her brother, grateful to feel the pain slipping away and taking his outstretched hands as she allowed him to hoist her up._

 

_Poking her arm softly, he grinned as he exclaimed: “Catch me if you can!” and ran away in the opposite direction, causing Anissa to huff and run behind him, the giggling once more filling her ears._

 

“Hey!” Anissa warily looked around her, noticing how Daryl's head was turned slightly to the right over his shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of her as he spoke once more. “You hanging in there alright?” He asked, his voice loud enough to be carried over the wind.

 

Just now did she realize her weakened grip on his waist, and cleared her throat quickly before she answered him. “Yeah, I'm good.” The words that escaped her lips sounded unconvincing, yet he let it go and just nodded, focusing his eyes back on the road as she tightened her grip slightly.

 

The female voice over the walkie sounded once more, and Anissa gave up on trying to make out what was said. With the wind blocking her hearing, and the loud growling from the horde behind them, it was quite impossible to catch what they were saying if you weren't directly next to the walkie.

 

The conversation died out, and Anissa was grateful for the cold wind clinging to her body, allowing her to finally cool down for a bit after weeks of constant walking and being in the heat. They rode for a long while over the long road, making sure that the horde was still following them.

 

Daryl had seemed to be advancing on the car just a bit, and was the first to turn to the left as a _'642'_ sign came in view. They rode another road, this one having houses on the left, which seemed horribly demolished by the looks of it.

 

Gunshots fired right in front of their heads, the sound echoing as loud as thunder as Anissa desperately tried to dodge the bullets. In a flash she could make out the group of people firing the guns, having a better aim at the car than at the fast moving motorcycle.

 

Worriedly she tried to look over her shoulder, and saw Naomi moving down just in time before the window on her left side was fully shot open. A searing pain shot up her left arm, and only when she was already down on the ground did she realize that Daryl had lost control of the motorcycle.

 

Making out the abrasion on her left elbow, she hissed painfully as she bitterly thought about the destruction of her left arm that day. “Come on!” Daryl rasped and hurriedly helped her back on her feet before turning to his motorcycle and pushing it back up again.

 

As soon as he sat down, she followed him suit and was forced to cling desperately onto his leather jacket as he started the engine and rode off, without her having properly sat down on the back. Scooting forward with all the strength she had, she wrapped her arms around his waist again and ducked when she heard more gunshots, hoping that was enough to avoid them.

 

A crash was heard, but Anissa had no time to look around, no time to wonder about the safety of Naomi as they were now turning around the corner of a blue container, a small group of walkers reaching their hands out for them.

 

With a lot of sharp turns, Daryl managed to shake one car off as she heard it crashing into something, yet the second still remained to follow them. They rode away from the others, advancing great speed as they temporarily left view as they hit the road once more, Daryl taking a quick turn into the woods and watching as the car ride right past them.

 

His breathing was irregular as he started the engine once more and rode to the opposite side of the road, entering another forest. One that faded from a vividly green to one that looked as dead as the walkers that were now surrounding the country. The trees had turned pitch black, and the ground had turned into a soft, muddy black pool.

 

Daryl's panting became worse, and the motorcycle slowed down until they both fell down, forcing Anissa to let go of his body as they fell to the right side, his arms having spread wide and Anissa having fallen diagonally next to his body, her left foot falling just over his right leg, as her right leg was spread as wide as his arms. Her left arm had fallen over his chest, and her head had just touched the tip of his fingers.

 

A sharp inhalation caught both their heads to snap to the right, their upper bodies reaching up as they looked at the source. A walker had been burned to his bones, the motorcycle helmet stuck over his head. It disturbed her how close her head was to the walker's, and how her right arm was practically touching the burned leg, but as it opposed no real threat, they allowed their exhausted bodies to fall back to the floor and regain some rest.

 

“How many walkers have you killed?” Daryl still sounded slightly breathless, but after a good few minutes of having lain there, he seemed to have saw fit to ask her a most random question. “What?” She asked confused as she turned her body slightly to the left, only now taking in his features.

 

His hair was dark and sticky, making it fall into very gentle waves around his face, his slightly blonder goatee seeming to be well groomed for a time like the apocalypse, making her wonder once more where it is they were staying at to be in such good conditions. His blue eyes were looking observingly into her own grey onces, as if he was reading her by just a single look. “Just answer the question.” He spoke softly and Anissa shrugged – for as best as she could whilst laying down.

 

“I kinda stopped keeping count after a while.” Anissa answered and he nodded in understanding, and threw yet another unexpected question at her. “How many people have you killed?” Anissa frowned at this, wondering why it is that he wanted to know.

 

“I haven't. My family did, though.” Her voice broke halfway through the sentence as she brought her family up, and he looked questioningly back at her. “Why?” The southern accent kept on surprising her, but she shrugged it off. “We're living in a world where it's kill or be killed now. They were trying to knick our stuff, the only things we had left to survive. They did what they had to do.”

 

For some reason, he seemed satisfied with her answer as he sat up straight, making her remember that her hand was still on his chest, which now awkwardly fell into his lap on its own account. Anissa awkwardly cleared her throat as she could feel the heat rising to her face, quickly pulling her hand back as well as the foot that was still laying on his leg as she went to move up straight with him, gratefully taking his outstretched hand as he helped her up.

 

Daryl pulled the motorcycle up once more, and pushed it through the muddy ground as Anissa followed, offering to help but getting turned down. “Are you sure you don't want my help?” She asked again as she avoided the burned bodies of the walkers on the floor and saw him struggling to keep the motorcycle up. “Yes.” He grumpily answered and she shrugged, “Suit yourself, then.” She lightly replied earning her a growl from him.

 

Anissa leaned her body back as they were going down slightly, chuckling softly as he ran out of control and ended up falling with the motorcycle on top of him. “That sure is a faster way to go down.” Daryl shot her a dark look, which added up to her amusement. Normally she would have felt bad for him, but since he so stubbornly refused her help, she thought that this was exactly what he deserved.

 

Getting up, he reached for his walkie talkie and tried to call out for his friends, but the line remained dead. Anissa watched his chest rising and falling in rapid speed as he tried to regain his breath, his black blouse unbuttoned slightly because of the heat, a nasty cut from before on his head as the blood had slightly dried up.

 

Watching in concern, she only now saw the blooded hand and waited for him to take off his leather driving glove from his left hand before rushing over to him and grabbing it before he could even protest. He shook her hand off his as he tried to get out of a layer of clothes, which she didn't hesitate with to help.

 

Standing behind him, she carefully let the blouse and leather jackets glide down from his body and watched as even more blood was shown on his left arm, his elbow bleeding heavily. Even though she was feeling more than sorry for him that he was so wounded, she couldn't help but let out a laugh.

 

This made his head snap to her, “What?” He asked accusingly and Anissa raised an amused eyebrow. “Seems like we're both a hand short.” She said as she raised her own bloodied left arm, showing that they both only had their right arm to properly defend themselves with.

 

Daryl shook his head, clearly unamused as he walked over to his motorcycle and grabbed his bag off it as well as his crossbow. She wasn't going to lie, as he moved around so much, she did have an appreciation for his arms, which seemed to be surprisingly muscled.

 

Rustling caught both their attentions, but neither of them could spot anything. Daryl grabbed a branch and covered the motorcycle with it, clearly hiding it from whatever might be wandering around.

 

“Stay close.” Daryl whispered lowly as he raised his crossbow and quietly moved to the direction of the sound they previously heard. Anissa did as she was told, and stuck closely behind him with her own knife in her right hand.

 

A sudden appearance of two women made her jump slightly in surprise, the brown haired woman speaking up as soon as they got sight of them. “You found us, okay? Here we are.” Daryl threateningly walked in front of them, his crossbow pointed at the two women and Anissa moved slightly forwards, staying next to his side as she was wondering what he was going to do.

 

“We earned what we took.” The brown haired woman's eyes switched to a rustling behind them, and before she even had a chance to do anything, they were both knocked out by a blonde haired man.

 

Not even one day had she met those people on the road, and she had already gotten into more trouble than she had ever done in those two years of the apocalypse. It truly was going to be one hell of a ride for her.

 


	2. The fight

Anissa groaned softly as she slowly tried to open her eyes, her vision blurry and the stinging headache causing her to wince. Looking down, she saw her hands all covered in dirt and tied up with some rope. “Get up!” The painfully loud voice said, worsening the already bad headache.

 

Gliding her eyes to the right, she saw Daryl tied up just like she was, the blonde haired man pointing a gun at his face, yet he seemed rather unaffected by this. The man continued talking, but lowered his voice just enough so she couldn't hear it anymore from the distance they had.

 

Daryl was hoisted up by the man, and the blonde haired man nodded at the two girls, who both nodded in return and made their way to Anissa, each one grabbing an arm and pulled her up. Biting her cheek, she tried not to give away her pain from the harsh pull at her left arm as she was pushed to the left side of Daryl.

 

The blonde haired man seemed to point his gun at the middle of them now, making sure that if either of them would try anything, he could easily shoot them. “Follow them.” Was all he said and Anissa watched how the brown haired woman picked up the bag, dragging it with her as they moved in front of them through the forest.

 

Anissa looked at the water exchange between the girls, and only now realized how thirsty she actually was. It had been nearly a day since she last drank, and the heat wasn't particularly making things better. It was for that reason that she was glad that it was passed on to Daryl, who took just a few sips and left most of it in as he passed the bottle to her as best as he could with his hands tied.

 

Swallowing the water, she scrunched her eyes close for a second, a burning sensation overwhelming her due to her dry throat from before. It wasn't until the man was done talking to Daryl – a conversation she hadn't been following – that she reopened her eyes and continued walking with the rest.

 

The other three people were talking about how the forest had been set on fire, which had explained the burned down trees and the pitch black ground they were walking on. Not that it interested her that much, though. The only thing she really cared about at the moment was getting out of there.

 

Daryl, however, did seem rather intrigued by it as his voice sounded raspier than she had ever heard it that day, asking: “Did you do all of this?” The people continued talking about it, but again she paid no attention to it. The only thing that caught her attention was Daryl stopping and saying: “Y'all don't think you're being stupid right now?”

 

This seemed to frighten them in some way, and she too, stopped dead in her tracks. Curiously observing the others, she wondered what it was that they were so afraid of. Again he got a gun pointed at his head, the blonde haired man's voice shaking slightly as he asked Daryl if he was going to do something.

 

“So tell me, am I being stupid?” The blonde haired asked, waving his gun in Daryl's face. He remained silent for a bit, but then answered. “Nah.” Taking one slight step back he continued to talk, “Look, I got somewhere to be. We can make a deal, I can help you out.” This seemed to have been the wrong thing to say, as the man's face turned cold. Talking bitterly about how they shouldn't have trusted them, but still urged them on to walk.

 

Anissa sighed softly at the failed attempt to get away, but followed the women nonetheless, until they entered a part of the woods where the trees were alive once more, the green surrounding them as they walked out of the woods.

 

They ended up at a fenced place, where a couple of walkers were walking around. Clearly the person they had been looking for wasn't alive anymore. Daryl took a few steps closer to her, his hair dripping slightly with sweat and his eyes squinted due to the sun shining in their eyes.

 

The blonde haired girl with short hair suddenly collapsed mid-way into their conversation. Daryl took this moment to whisper a very low: “Run.” and in a swift motion he grabbed the bag they had been carrying.

 

Taking his advice, she ran with him through the woods as fast as she could, trying not to fall over the protruding branches and trying to keep her balance whenever she had to jump over fallen trunks or dead walkers.

 

Entering the burned part of the forest once more, having successfully dodged the bullets the man had tried to fire at them, they both tripped over a particular trunk sticking out, causing Anissa to fall just a bit further than Daryl.

 

In a rapid speed he had managed to loosen the ropes with his teeth and with the help of some wood he managed to pull his hands free. Taking the walkie talkie from the bag, he tried calling for his friends once more, but to no avail.

 

The rustling of trees caught Anissa's attention, and looking over her shoulder, she saw a walker approaching. Turning back, she was about to call out for Daryl but noticed that he heard it too. As he slowly moved for the bag, searching for his weapon, she was trying to get out of her ropes as well, but found it a bit more difficult than he did.

 

The immense slow speed he was searching for a weapon with was starting to irk her greatly. “Daryl!” She hissed, trying to make him look for it faster, all the while trying to get a movement in her ropes. Turning his head, he now realized that the walker had gotten closer than he most likely expected it to.

 

Trying to move back with her elbows, biting on her cheek once more as the abrasion scratched over the hard ground, she tried to move away from the walker that was now closing in on her. “Daryl.” Anissa nervously whimpered, trying her hardest to get back, but she didn't get much movement in her body.

 

The walker was dropping to his knees, desperately trying to get his hands on her legs as she tried to kick his face away with her feet, careful not to get her foot stuck in his mouth. “Daryl!” She cried out as she heard frantic searching from besides her. Her feet fell down and his mouth was just about to close in on her leg when an arrow was shot through his head, making him fall dead into her lap.

 

Disgustedly she tried to roll away from underneath it, but failed miserably. Panting was heard above her, and next thing she knew the walker was pushed off her body. Daryl went to stand behind her, grabbing her underneath the armpits and breathed heavily as he helped her back on her feet.

 

His rough fingers brushed hers as he fumbled with the ropes, his left hand covered in dried blood, the other covered in dirt. With a bit of pulling he managed to get her out and let the ropes drop to the floor, walking back to the bag that was still laying on the ground.

 

Following him, she rubbed her wrists to soothe the burning pain where the ropes had been cutting into her flesh as she had tried to move away from the walker. An insulin box was shown in the bag and she knew exactly what he wanted to do – and she couldn't blame him. She even admired it, really. How he had seemed so concerned about a stranger – to a certain level, that is.

 

Grabbing her own gear back out from the bag, she wordlessly followed him back through the forest, walking back to the place where they had first seemed to meet the other people. Daryl's crossbow was held high, and taking a sprint, he approached the three people sitting hopelessly on the trunk. “Drop the gun!” He warned, and Anissa watched how he took away the blonde haired man's gun.

 

Throwing the bag to the people, he turned around. “Good luck, you're gonna need it.” Was all he said. Grabbing her arm, he pulled her behind a tree as a loud moving sound came their way. They both watched a truck taking some trees down with people stepping out of it.

 

The brown haired woman seemed to repeat the line she said when they first came across them before getting knocked out, but it didn't seem to satisfy whomever they were talking to. Daryl seemed to straighten a bit up, and after following his gaze, she noticed all the people surrounding the place they were going to head.

 

Daryl ran and pointed them in the other direction, the blonde haired man helping the short haired girl up and ran ahead. A hand was felt on the lower back and she was pushed forward a bit, forcing her to run with the person. Looking to her right, she saw Daryl looking carefully around him as they dodged some trees and approached the other group of people.

 

Giving back their gun, Anissa anxiously lowered down a bit to not get seen as Daryl was behind a tree, having his eyes on something. Moving just slightly to the right, she could see a walker that was stuck behind a rock and a man approaching it. Daryl rustled with a branch, catching the man's attention, who unawarely walked their way and got himself bitten in the arm by the walker.

 

Another man seemed to join, and she knew what was coming as he tied a belt around the other man's arm. Turning around, she opted for looking at Daryl's leg until she waited for the nasty chopping sound and screaming to end.

 

As soon as the people had cleared out, Anissa straightened up and went back to stand next to Daryl, not wanting to stay too close to the others in case they might pull another trick. “We thought you were with them.” The blonde haired man said and listed the things they had done to them. “Why the hell did you come back?”

 

Anissa looked curiously at Daryl, fascinated as he said: “Maybe I'm stupid too.” There was so much more to him than she had first thought, and a small part of her hoped to find out what that was. He had changed – that much she could make out. But in what way did he change?

 

The group went to move again as they walked back through the forest, listening to the conversation between the man and Daryl. Talking about why he thought they were one of them. The short haired girl, whose name appeared to be Tina, ran ahead to a burned down house. The brown haired woman explained who the people were, and blamed themselves for what had happened.

 

Tina managed to find a stack of flowers, and knelt in front of the dead bodies, placing the flower down. Screams filled the area now, as Tina fell and landed on the walkers, allowing the glass to break and to set the walkers free.

 

Daryl and she moved to the walkers, both stabbing one in the head as soon as they could. But it was already too late – she was bitten badly, and thanks to the huge amount of blood loss, she died almost straight away.

 

Meeting Daryl's eyes, she looked hesitant as she watched him walk away, taking his distance from the group. Knowing that this was something they needed to grieve over alone, she too followed him and kicked some dirt around, trying to fight the images that were threatening to fill her mind.

 

Her brother and father – all blooded and wounded, their screams lingering in her head. And as she relived yesterday, she felt all the life leave her body, all the strength abandoning her as she fell to the ground, where she caught herself just in time. Kneeling, her head was hung low as her fingers dug into the ground, tears rolling down her cheeks once more as memories of her father made her way into her head.

 

“ _Daddy, please, just another one.” She begged as her father was sitting on the side of her bed, having closed the book he had just been reading from. The lamp on the nightstand was the only light source in the bedroom, creating a gentle shadow on her father's face._

 

_Back then she hadn't paid it any mind, but looking back on it now she noticed how tired he had looked, as his lips formed a gentle smile. “It's getting late, 'Nissa. Tomorrow we'll read again, okay?” Anissa pouted in a try to persuade him, but he shook his head with a soft chuckle, never having fallen for her persuasion._

 

_Her dad moved forward and planted a soft kiss on her forehead, tucking her in nicely as he moved off the bed, about to turn off the light, but Anissa's little hand stopped him. “Please don't.” She whimpered softly, making him turn questioningly to her._

 

“ _Why not, sweety?” He asked and she brought the blanket a little higher up to her face. “I'm scared.” She softly spoke, earning her another chuckle from her father, who knelt down to get to eye-level with her. “There is no need to be afraid, little one. Whenever something happens, just know that all you have to do is close your eyes and think about me. I'll always be here to protect you, okay?” Anissa nodded sheepishly and gratefully welcomed another kiss to the forehead before watching him turn off the lights and leave the bedroom with one last smile._

 

“You all right?” Anissa focused back on the present moment and noticed the warm hand laying on her right shoulder. Wiping away the tears from her face with her left hand, she looked up to see a worried outline on his face as he had leaned forward slightly. Nodding her head, she straightened up and felt the hand leaving her shoulder.

 

Watching the shovel in his hand, she focused her eyes on the blonde haired man who was still busily digging a grave. “How many walkers have you killed?” Anissa frowned in thought as she observed Daryl, wondering if that was a question they asked to see if you were trust worthy enough. “Just answer the question.” He added as the man looked at him questioningly, just like she had done when she had been asked.

 

“A lot. A couple dozen at least.” The man replied, and Anissa knew what question was coming next. “How many people have you killed?” The man went back to his shoveling as he said: “None.”

 

“Why?” Anissa looked strangely at Daryl, wondering why he would ask such a question. Wasn't it good that he didn't kill anyone? “Why haven't I killed anybody? Because if I did, there would be no going back. There would be no going back to how things were.” She admired his answer, for she more than agreed with it. However, she also knew that didn't have to be true.

 

Her family had killed as well – and they had stayed true to themselves. It was all about how strong a person was, in her opinion. When Daryl explained the safe haven that was mentioned before, she understood why he asked those questions. He wanted to know if someone was still good enough to be protected.

 

The man looked at the woman, but she didn't even look up, clearly not wanting to have to make decisions now. Even he remained silent as he continued digging, eventually carefully placing the body of Tina in it and saying their last goodbyes.

 

Walking back to the place where Daryl had fallen down, he removed the branch from the motorcycle and talked about what they had to do to find his friends. Anissa saw how suspiciously they looked at Daryl, still debating if they could trust him or not.

 

She couldn't blame them. People had changed due to this apocalypse. And most of them changed more for the worse than for the better. There was no one you could trust any more. Which was rather funny, since that was exactly what she was doing with Daryl right now. But the only reason she did it was because she didn't really care any more what happened. With her family gone, she didn't know what she was fighting for.

 

Sure, Naomi was still a great motivation to stay alive, but even now she didn't know if Naomi had survived the crash she had heard back then.

 

As Daryl kept on answering the questions the man asked, he kept on sounding more unconvincing. And if she didn't know better, she wouldn't have believed either that he had any friends somewhere. It therefore wasn't that surprising when they both stopped dead in their tracks, Daryl holding the motorcycle he was just pushing.

 

“Ah dammit.” She heard Daryl lowly mumble as he dropped the motorcycle, trying to reach for his crossbow, but not managing to get it off his shoulder without risking the man pulling the trigger. Daryl went to stand beside her, and even though she could understand, she did not agree with the next things they did.

 

Forcing Daryl to give the crossbow after a warning shot – which nearly ended up in her head – he handed it over and watched as he gave the woman the gun so he could pick the motorcycle up. “Patch yourself up.” The woman said as she threw some gauzes on the ground near their feet and went to sit behind the man. “We're sorry.” She said and Anissa had difficulty making out Daryl's facial expression as his hair had fallen in front of his face. “You're gonna be.”

 

And with that, they rode away, leaving the both of them behind. He picked up the gauzes and put them into his bag, not planning on using them at the moment. “Come on.” He said and nodded to the side, leading them through the forest and back to where they first had fallen down.

 

Seeming to be concentrated on something on the floor, she couldn't quite see what it was that caught his attention until he wiped away the ash, displaying a fuel company's name. Looking around him, she curiously watched how he so easily managed to find something that was completely undetectable for her.

 

Following his steps, she watched as he removed some loose branches and displayed a _Patrick Fuel Company_ truck. Killing the walker from inside, he turned to look at her. “Found our way back home.” Anissa unconsciously smiled, glad to be out of the dead woods. It was already bad enough to have dead people – dead nature as well didn't really help much for her spirits. Getting into the other side of the truck, she gratefully watched as he drove them out of the woods and back on the road.

 

“How are you planning on finding your friends?” She curiously asked as they drove their way back to where they were shot at. “Tracking, of course.” He replied and stopped the truck for a moment, getting out of it real quick to look at something and then got back in.

 

“So, mind telling me what happened yesterday?” Daryl lowly asked as he carefully looked around him on the road, looking for signs she didn't see. Anissa swallowed, debating on saying it. It's not like she didn't trust him enough to tell him – it's just that saying it aloud would truly confirm it.

 

But she also knew that there was only so long that she could run away from it. And the longer she ran, the harder she would fall when the turning point did come. And so she softly let the words escape her lips. “Yesterday, when in the woods, we saw you guys moving the horde and wanted to stay away as best as we could.” She began, staring in the distance, her eyes defocussing. “We heard a scream and saw Rick and the others move to the bitten man.”

 

“I..-” Anissa took a deep breath as she noticed the tears forming in her eyes, her throat getting unbearably dry as she slowly started to blame herself. “I wanted to save the man – help him out. But my father stopped me.. and before I knew it I heard screams from behind and..-” Anissa stopped talking for a second as she willed herself to calm down, not wanting to hiccup the entire time as she talked.

 

“I turned around, and the next thing I knew I saw two walkers ripping my brother and father apart.” With that the tears started rolling, but she made no move to wipe them away. She wasn't ashamed of crying over those she loved.

 

Turning her head to the left, she met his staring eyes and noticed how they had softened greatly, his voice gently as he spoke. “I'm sorry for your loss.” He sounded sincerely, earning him a minor smile before her gaze dropped down.

 

“I killed my family.” She tonelessly stated as she realized how they had died. “If I had just let the man die, if we just had ran away as soon as it happened, then they'd still be alive.” Anissa clasped a hand to her mouth as more tears started to fall down.

 

Sobbing, she turned her head away from him. No, she wasn't ashamed of crying over her family, but neither did she like being seen as weak. Especially when it was her own fault they had died. “Hey.” Daryl spoke, and she could feel his staring eyes on her, but she didn't reply.

 

“Hey!” He spoke a little louder, a hand falling on her knee. This caught her attention, making her hand fall to her lap as she looked at him with teary eyes. “You didn't kill your family. You did what you thought was right to do. I'm sure your family would think the same.” Even though she wasn't fully convinced, she nodded at him and dried her tears, letting out a humourless laugh.

 

“Sorry for the crying. I'm sure you'd rather take on a walker than a crying woman.” Daryl seemed amused, but nonetheless stayed serious as he spoke. “Surely is more temptin', but no worries.” She smiled gratefully at him and watched her surroundings as they come to a stop, watching in relief as Naomi and Daryl's friends came out of a building.

 

The door on her side opened, a broad smile on the red haired guy's face, which she believed to be Abraham, if she remembered correctly from before. “So, how are we all gonna fit in?” The dark skinned girl named Sasha asked, looking at the only three seats the truck had.

 

“You there, you sit on her lap. Sasha, you sit on Abraham's.” Daryl instructed, and Anissa looked at Daryl in amusement. “You don't know my name, do you?” He sheepishly looked down, earning him a hearty chuckle from her as she stretched her hand out, and waited for him to shake it. “I'm Anissa.” She said with an amused smile. “Daryl.” He replied and she grinned, “I know.”

 

Focusing her eyes back on Naomi, she watched in relief that she had seemed to calm down greatly, most likely thanks to Sasha, who had presumably been talking a lot to her. The blonde haired girl got into the truck and with a bit of difficulty managed to get on Anissa's lap, causing her to lean slightly more into Daryl. Not that this affected her much, after all, the first moment she met him she was already clinging to his body for life.

 

Abraham sat himself down next to her, and with even more difficulty Sasha got on his lap, earning her a huge smile from the man, making Anissa wonder if those two were perhaps together. Not feeling comfortable enough around them to ask, however, she kept quiet.

 

Brushing the blonde hair out of her face, she allowed herself to close her eyes for a second, completely exhausted from all the emotions she had been feeling since yesterday. She heard Daryl trying to reach for Rick and the others, but once more it was a failed attempt, except for the one frightened voice saying: “Help.” What that was all about, though, she didn't know. Nor that she have the energy to care much about it at the moment.

 

The gentle swaying of the car got her head resting lightly against Daryl, her cheek brushing against his bare shoulder ever so often. The rocking motion carried her gently into a slumber, allowing her a rest she had been needing for a very long time now.

 

“Anissa.” The low voice, which had seemed to belong to Daryl, woke her up after what felt like way too soon. Frowning at him, she looked past Naomi to see why they had stopped. Upon seeing the group of guys on their motorcycles, however, she understood.

 

Letting out a frustrated sigh, she waited for the people to get out of the truck first and left through the left side of the truck, taking her place on the right side of Daryl, who stood at the outer left. Naomi went to stand besides her on the right, and Abraham and Sasha stood on the right side of the truck.

 

“Hand over your weapons.” The standing man said, and Daryl immediately began to protest, and she knew why: his crossbow was just taken away from him, and now they needed to hand over the rest as well? “Why should we?” He asked and the man started to explain, although Anissa couldn't make much sense out of it.

 

Nonetheless, they were forced to hand over their weapons. Daryl gave him his gun, to which he replied with a “thank you” and a rather sweet smile, which weirded her out a bit. Turning to her, she too, handed over the gun she was carrying, and Naomi and Sasha did the same, both getting the same “thank you” in return.

 

Abraham, however, didn't seem so willing to hand it over, which earned him some advice from the man about eating shit, which persuaded Abraham to hand over his gun as well. The man kept on talking about things like property, and ordered a man of his to take Daryl to the back.

 

Anissa looked rather worriedly over her shoulder, but refocused her eyes on the group of guys in front of as he disappeared out of sight. Abraham asked a question, even though the man had just warned them not to do so, and raised his gun at him.

 

This caused Naomi to whimper slightly, but after Anissa carefully pulled on her arm, she kept quiet. The man started talking about who was going to die, and pointed his gun at each one in turn. Sasha jumped in as well, earning her a gun pointed at her as well.

 

He seemed to lower his guns, rethinking his decision, causing everyone to breathe out in relief until he raised them once more. But before he even had a chance of doing so, the entire group was blown up, and Anissa fell backwards, her arms finding Naomi as they both fell down to the ground. Ducking away from any falling pieces from the explosion, she stood up and helped Naomi up as well, panting as she looked at Daryl appearing with a bazooka in his hands.

 

“Son of a bitch is tougher than he looks.” Daryl said and they all followed him to see man laying there on the ground. “Did he cut you?” Sasha asked and Anissa averted her eyes to look at the cut on his left shoulder. “A little.”

 

“What a bunch of assholes.” Daryl said and turned to look around at the ground. “Let's get you fixed up at home.” Sasha said with a smile and Anissa cocked her head a little to the right, glad to see that there were still people with friendships in this hellish world. “Yes, ma'am.” Daryl said and entered the truck, everyone following suit and taking their original places back.

 

When seated comfortably in the truck, or well, as comfortable as one could be with five people occupying a seat for three, she closed her eyes once more and allowed herself to drift off. This was the second time in just two days where they encountered some unwanted people, and she was absolutely done with it. She just wanted to go wherever it was that they called home and rest.

 

Opening her eyes again after a while, she noticed that it had gotten dark outside, and as they neared a well guarded place, she heard the extremely loud growling – as if they were right beside the horde again. Gunshots were heard, and she could hear a distant woman yelling in fear. Abraham and Sasha got out of the truck without any doubt and ran up to the fences, climbing on it and firing away at whatever was behind it.

 

“Is this the place?” Anissa wondered as she took in how high the fences were and Daryl nodded grimly on her left side. “It is.” He said, sounding worried as he, too, had no clue what was going on at the moment. The gate was opened by an Asian guy, and Daryl drove the truck forward, allowing a woman and a girl to get off a platform with the help of Abraham and Sasha.

 

The Asian man walked around the truck and entered it, taking a seat besides the two girls. “What the hell happened?” Daryl asked, and Anissa took in the new man's sweating face, his neck covered in blood. “I don't know, I just got back.” The man looked at her for a second, seeming to recognize her as he inclined his head at her and then focused his attention back on Daryl.

 

“We can lead some of them away.” The man proposed, but Daryl turned the plan down. “Nah, we'll get them all together. Won't have to lead them all away.” He said and knocked on the roof. Waiting for the people to get off the roof, they drove to a lake and everyone got out of the truck, Anissa grabbing for her knife as she looked around her.

 

There was only a small minority of people who where fighting the dead, the entire place filled with the horde she saw yesterday. “'Nissa..” The scared voice of Naomi made her head turn to her, watching how she clung to the knife in her own hand. The grey tank top she was wearing was still covered in the blood from yesterday, her dark jeans slightly ripped from the nights they spent out there.

 

“Let's get out of here while we still can.” She whispered, her eyes gliding over the walkers surrounding them as Daryl moved to the back of the truck, splashing of water reaching her ears. “What? No, we can't. We have to help them.” Anissa said, momentarily leaving her side as a walker approached them, putting a knife through its skull.

 

“'Nissa, please, you know how that turned out yesterday.” At those words, her entire face turned ice cold as she looked at her friend. “No need to remind me.” She said through gritted teeth and watched Naomi lower her head, mumbling a quick apology. “If you wanna go, you go. But I'm staying.” Anissa said and with one nod to Daryl who seemed to be watching them, she walked into the horde of walkers, trying to dodge the ones who were trying to rip her apart whilst putting a knife in the ones she could get her hands on.

 

As she was making her way through the horde, she ended up with the other people who seemingly lived here, fighting for their place. Recognizing Rick and the dark skinned woman and man, she joined them as they were driven to the wall, cornered by the walkers surrounding them.

 

Then the fire was lit – the lake burning brightly, distracting the walkers in front of them, causing them to walk to the source of the light. Rick screamed something which was unheard over the growling, but she took it as a motivation to continue killing the walkers, and so she went back into fighting, wishing her knife was just a bit longer so she didn't have to get that close to each walker she killed.

 

The horde seemed to thin out greatly – most of them burned by the fire, the others being slaughtered by the rest of the group. The others from the truck joined as well, and to her admiration, she spotted the blonde locks of her best friend as well, fighting for the place even though Anissa knew she was scared to death and wished for nothing more than to run away from the danger as fast as she could.

 

Blood splashed all over her face as she was handed a weapon with a longer blade from one of the people she didn't know, allowing her to kill the walkers easier and safer from a bit of distance, reducing the risk of getting bitten.

 

Her body was starting to get drenched by the dead fluids, but hygiene was a long lost concern after two years of living this life, and therefore paid it no mind as she fought for the people who were still alive and breathing – for the place they called home.

 

And for once after she lost her family, she found a purpose again to fight what she had been fighting for those entire two years. For the ones who still had a chance of surviving – for the ones who still had a chance to make it to the end.

 


	3. Cleaning the mess

“Thank you.” Anissa smiled gratefully at the woman treating the wound on her left arm, which had started to infect by the dirt and the blood from the walkers. “No need to thank me, darling.” She smiled back and focused on Daryl, treating the cut at his shoulder blade.

 

Anissa looked around the house, feeling rather odd to be in such a place again. For years she had been living outside, not used to a proper kitchen, or a normal living area. It felt so surreal to know that they had what was close to how it once was. And she now understood why they had been so eager on fighting for it.

 

Going back outside, she immediately went over to Naomi and gave her a hug, smiling as she whispered: “Thank you for staying.” Pulling back, she got a hesitant smile in return. “Anissa was it, right?” The voice got her wheeling around and she looked at Rick, who seemed just as blood stained and tired as the others surrounding the house. “That's right.” Anissa replied and watched as Daryl came walking out the door.

 

“You two feel like staying?” Rick asked and Anissa immediately looked to Naomi, already knowing the answer herself but wanting Naomi to agree to it as well. Naomi bit on her lip, a habit she had developed whenever she got nervous. Nodding her head to behind her, Anissa got the hint and excused them for a second, walking a bit further to the street filled with dead walkers to talk with her.

 

“How are you so sure we can trust them?” Naomi asked, now more confident as she wasn't surrounded with other people. “I don't. But they're good people, I just know it. Daryl's been looking out for me these past two days, and so have Abraham and Sasha for you.” Anissa sighed as she squinted as the sun shone in her eyes, bringing a hand to her forehead to create a shadow. “Besides, where else can we go?” She hopelessly let out and Naomi nodded in agreement.

 

Taking her lack of arguing as a sign that she agreed to staying, they walked back to the group, growing slightly nervous under all the staring eyes, but tried to solemnly focus on Rick. “We'd love to stay. If that's alright with everyone, of course.” Chuckles were heard and everyone nodded, “Welcome to Alexandria, girls.” Rick said and outstretched his hand, which both of them shook.

 

Turning to the entire group, she listened in admiration as Rick spoke with a power of leadership, the group listening attentively to what he had to say and actually respecting the words he spoke. “Everyone, you've done an amazing job. Why don't we all get cleaned up at home and get cleaning the streets tomorrow.” Everyone voiced their agreements, and slowly people started to walk to their own respected houses.

 

Naomi and Anissa lingered behind, not quite certain where they could go. “Right, you see that first and second house from the left over there?” Rick asked and pointed at the left of the street, the one that turned to the left if you'd walk through the main gate. Both girls nodded. “Our group is split in two houses. There is only one place left at each house, so you can figure out where it is you want to stay.”

 

Anissa turned to Naomi, letting her decide. For her it didn't matter. As long as she could finally clean herself up a bit, and had a roof above her head, she would be fine. “Which house is Sasha in?” Naomi tentatively asked Rick, to which he replied: “The second.” Naomi then uncertainly turned to Anissa, who laughed heartily at her. “Of course.” She didn't even need to ask, for she already knew that Sasha and Naomi would most likely get on really well.

 

“I'll show you around that house, then. Daryl, you mind showing Anissa her room?” Daryl shook his head, “Sure thing.” And with that he started walking, Anissa bidding her goodbye to Naomi before taking off after Daryl and following him inside the house.

 

It felt beyond weird to be in a clean house, where no dead walkers were laying around, or no blood was staining the walls. Everything looked so nice and clean, and even better – most things seemed to function. Daryl guided her to the second floor, and pointed at the second room on the left down the hall. “That one will be yours.”

 

“And over there's the bathroom, if you need it.” He added and pointed at the end of hall to the right. Anissa nodded and smiled gently, “Thanks, Daryl.” He shrug it off and walked back down again, disappearing to God knows where.

 

Immediately heading over to the bathroom, she watched in delight as the water seemed to work. Carefully taking off her clothes, she winced slightly as she brushed against the abrasion on her elbow.

 

Looking into the mirror, she was surprised with what she saw. No longer did she recognize the girl she once used to be – the one who used to look as nice and clean as she possibly could, the one who always tried to look her best. No, right now all she saw was the dark circles under her eye, blood stains all over her face.

 

Dirt was sticking to her forehead with a combination of sweat that was dripping over her dark eyebrows. Her grey eyes that were staring back at her seemed lifeless. The bubble filled with hope and happiness had been long gone – leaving her empty.

 

With a sigh she removed her hair tie, letting her dark brown hair fall gently over her shoulders, watching how it fell all the way below her ribs. It wasn't very convenient to have such long hair in times like these, but she couldn't bear cutting it off. So instead she just mainly wore it in a ponytail or bun, and even on rare occasions in a braid. Whatever was most useful in a particular situation.

 

Turning the shower on, she sighed in bliss as the warm water soothed her aching muscles, washing away all the dirt, sweat and blood with a relieved feeling. Glad to finally be clean again after all those times.

 

Not wanting to waste too much water, she turned the shower off after she finished washing her hair and dried herself with the towel that she grabbed out of a cabinet. It was almost a pity to get back into the clothes that were still dirty and wet, but she had little choice.

 

After she was all dressed and done, she moved to the appointed bedroom and carefully opened it as if she was expecting the rest of the horde to jump out from behind it. To her relief, however, the bedroom was completely empty and without any second thoughts, she let herself fall on the bed.

 

The feeling of the soft fabric and the comfortable mattress nearly had her moaning out in satisfaction. She was used to sleeping on the ground – which her back was highly complaining about, so to lay on such a soft surface, was both a relief and even a little weird. She had become so accustomed to the outdoors, that something as simple as a bed was completely strange to her.

 

Yet, she wasn't complaining as her back finally seemed to relax, sinking lightly into the mattress. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the silence that hung in the air, distant chattering on the street allowing her to gently fall asleep.

 

When she awoke, it was still dark outside, but upon taking a closer look at the sky, she saw that it was nearing morning, and thus allowed herself to leave the bedroom and quietly head down to the living room.

 

A box with cookies on the counter top in the kitchen caught her attention, and reading the note that was attached to it, she opened the box with a smile spreading on her lips.

 

_'Anissa,_

_You must be starving, so I made you some cookies for when you wake up._

_\- Carol.'_

 

She had no idea who this Carol was, but didn't say no to food. It had now been three days since she last ate, and she was beyond starving. It therefore didn't take her all too long to finish each one of them, leaving her finally somewhat fulfilled with the last bite.

 

“You liked my cookies?” The voice scared her half to death, as she instinctively moved for her knife and wheeled around. Upon seeing the grey haired woman she saw before during the fighting, she tucked away the knife and brought a hand to her heart as she tried to regain her breathing.

 

The woman chuckled lightly, “Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.” When she felt confident enough to speak again she shook her head and let out a breathless laugh. “You made those?” Anissa asked and the woman nodded. “Yes, baking is one of the things I enjoy doing.” Anissa smiled as she looked at the woman and nodded at the empty box, “They were really good, thank you.”

 

Carol smiled in return, “I'm glad to hear that.” Anissa looked around the room, listening to a few soft sounds coming from upstairs. “Is anyone else up?” She questioned and the woman nodded, “Yes, I just saw Rick in the hallway. I'm sure he'll be here any second now.”

 

Anissa nodded and took a seat on the couch and lightly tapped her finger on the side of it, a habit she had developed whenever she got nervous or annoyed. In this case it was just nervousness, for she didn't really know how to act around the woman she just met.

 

To her relief Rick came walking down soon afterwards, greeting the two women. “Anissa, can we talk for a bit?” He gently asked and she nodded, wondering what he wanted to talk about. Did he perhaps regret his choice of letting them stay and was now going to ask her to leave as soon as Naomi woke up?  
  


Rick laughed making her head turn to him questioningly. “Don't worry so much, just wanted to talk about how we first met, if you don't mind.” He asked softly as they walked outside, taking a slow stroll through the streets.

 

“What did those people mean to you? The ones who got bitten?” Anissa swallowed as she looked down at her feet, carelessly placing one foot in front of the other. “They were family – brother and father.” She quietly stated and looked up to find him with a sympathetic look. “Sorry to hear that.” She nodded, for she was sorry too that she had to lose them.

 

“Been out there for long?” Anissa nodded, “Yeah, since the beginning. Didn't really have anywhere else to go. You weren't safe anywhere. The woods were often more safer than the buildings. At least there you could hear them coming.” Rick nodded in understanding and Anissa watched how it had already gotten lighter outside since the moment she had woken up. “You?” She cautiously asked, not quite sure if she had the right to ask him questions just yet.

 

He lightly chuckled, noticing her uncertainty. “Woke up in the hospital, only to find out that the apocalypse happened. Ever since I've been kinda out here with my group.” Anissa nodded, glad to hear he had found people to travel with through this mess. She couldn't even begin to imagine how terrible it must be to be all alone in a world like this now.

 

“Daryl said you never killed any people, how come?” Anissa shrugged, “I never had to. The only time it was needed, my father and brother took care of the situation. Ever since I've been lucky enough to not have to do it myself.” Rick nodded absentmindedly, “It sure does change you.”

 

The stroll was a bit difficult with all the dead walkers occupying the street, but nonetheless it did feel rather pleasant. Rick seemed like a very reasonable man, and seemed to be genuinely interested in what she had to say. “Naomi, she's quite the jumpy one, isn't she?” Anissa nodded with a soft laugh. “Has she always been like that?”

 

“Yeah, she's always been rather squeamish. Gets scared easily by all kinds of things. It got even worse with the apocalypse as you can imagine.” Rick nodded with a grin, but it slowly fell. “It's not an all too bad idea to work on that. Might save her life and others if we're out there.” Anissa nodded in agreement, “Trust me, I've been trying. But it's difficult to change someone if they aren't willing themselves.”

 

“Why isn't she willing?” Anissa shrugged her shoulders as she sighed, kicking a walker's arm away before she'd tumble over it. “She doesn't believe she can change. Thinks she isn't strong enough. Rubbish, of course. That girl can show some serious strength when needed to be. She just needs a little confidence.” Rick nodded slowly as he seemed to be taking that piece of information in.

 

“You feel like helping out today?” He then asked, changing the subject to something lighter. Anissa nodded, “Absolutely. It's the least I can do.” Rick smiled warmly, “Great, how about I wake the rest up and we all get started on ridding the walkers from the street?” Anissa nodded her agreement, “What will we do with the bodies?”

 

Rick seemed to consider this as he scratched his stubble beard, looking at the dead bodies on the ground. “We'll get them all together, pile them up at the main gate. Then we'll get people to bring them elsewhere and burn them. If we do it here, the smoke might attract more.”

 

Agreeing to his plan, she waved him goodbye as he went to wake up the others. Not wanting to waste any precious time, she got behind one of the bodies, grabbed it underneath the armpits and slightly hoisted it off the ground with some panting, dragging it backwards until she arrived at the main gate and let it drop.

 

She repeated this four more times until the streets slowly started to fill with other residents, each one helping to drag the bodies to the main gates. A couple of men, including Rick, went to rebuild the fences and seemed to make some improvements with the outside protection.

 

Anissa let out a breathless sigh as she wiped the sweat off her forehead, rubbing her hands clean on her pants as she put her hair into a bun to reduce the warmth she was feeling. “Here.” Anissa looked to her right and saw Naomi handing her a water bottle with a smile, “You should stay hydrated, you know.” Anissa gratefully took it and thanked her with a smile in return and gulped the contents down.

 

“Did you sleep well?” Anissa asked as she handed the bottle back and picked up yet another walker, Naomi following suit as they both walked to the gates. Anissa had grabbed it by the ankles, making it easier for her to drag it over the ground, requiring little strength and thus allowing her to keep her energy. “Haven't slept so well in forever.” Naomi beamed at her, causing Anissa to grin in happiness. She was glad that Naomi seemed to become slightly more adjusted to the idea of staying here, and was also feeling glad as she heard Sasha calling out for Naomi, waving her over.

 

Anissa watched for a moment, how the interaction between Sasha and Naomi lightened up both their faces. Somewhere, deep down, she felt rather jealous. This was her best friend for almost her entire life, the one that was now slowly slipping away from her.

 

But then again, could she blame her? It's not like she didn't expect this to happen. One way or another, she knew that if they'd be accepted to this group, they'd both make new friends. And if Sasha would be the one for Naomi who could perhaps help her get through her insecurities and bring her some confidence, she'd gladly approve of their new formed friendship.

 

“She'll be in good hands.” Anissa turned to look at the woman on her right, the dark skinned woman with the dreads. “Michonne.” The woman smiled and outstretched her hand, which Anissa shook with a smile on her face, not bothering to say her own name for it was mentioned in the group last morning already.

 

“I don't doubt that. Just a bit weird to know your best friend is slowly slipping away from you.” Anissa confessed as they both walked down the streets, grabbing yet another walker they could drag to the gates. “For how long have you been friends?” Michonne asked and Anissa let out a groan as she lifted the walker up by the ankles.

 

“Seventeen years.” Anissa replied and Michonne whistled, “Well, a friendship like that is hard to break. Yeah, things might change. But that's the world we live in now. Don't question your friendship. Good things have a habit of coming back to those who are truly deserving of it.” Anissa smiled gently at the woman, bidding her goodbye to her as she announced she'd be helping the others out at the end of the street.

 

Anissa sighed as she looked up at the main gates, watching a woman with brown short hair stand on the scaffolds. Deciding on getting to know the residents a bit better, she allowed herself a break from the cleaning as she climbed on the scaffold until she was all the way up.

 

The woman turned to look at her, a tired smile planted on her face. “You enjoying your stay?” Anissa nodded as she walked a bit closer, watching over the fences down the abandoned street. A couple of men were working on the reinforcements of the fences, their work looking heavy and tiring as she watched their bodies soak up in sweat.

 

“It's a nice thing you got going on here.” Anissa admitted as she turned around and leaned lightly against the fences, watching everyone working hard in piling all the walkers up near the gate. Compared to this morning, they had already cleaned up a great part. But they were nowhere close to done yet.

 

“We sure do. I'm Maggie, by the way.” The woman introduced herself and Anissa turned to look questioningly at the place. “How did you end up here?” Maggie seemed to turn around as well, watching the place over just like she was. “Our group came across a guy named Aaron who introduced this place to us. They've been very nice to us.”

 

“Unfortunately the founder of this community didn't make it, along with her family. Only one son managed to survive.” Anissa's face turned serious as she slowly nodded, but didn't dare saying anything. At loss for the right words.

 

A metal clinging sound got her attention, and she watched the Asian guy climbing up. “Ah, Anissa, didn't know it was you up here.” She smiled sheepishly, “I can see where I'm not welcome.” She teased lightly, almost feeling sorry as his eyes widened and he quickly began to apologize. “No no, I didn't mean it like that.”

 

Anissa laughed, “I know, I was just playing with you.” The boy shook his head with a disapproving chuckle, “I'm Glenn.” Anissa smiled as she looked between the two. “I'll leave you two to it, then.” The boy scratched behind his head with a sheepish smile, and Anissa said her goodbyes as she climbed back down, planning on helping the rest once more.

 

“Hey, Anissa.” The voice belonged to someone behind her, and after a bit of struggle trying to turn around whilst still keeping a hold of the walker, she looked at Rick staring at her with an amused smile. Noticing the man with the dark brown hair covering his face, she watched Daryl slowly approaching them with Glenn sprinting behind him.

 

“What's up?” She wondered as they all walked with her to the main gate, where she panted as she dropped the walker. “We were planning on bringing these walkers away to burn them, but we're a hand short. What do you think your participation could add?” Rick asked and she watched how Daryl looked her over once, his eyes observing – almost piercing uncomfortably into her skull.

 

Anissa chuckled, “I studied journalism before all this, so unless you want me to interview the walkers, I'll be of little help to you. But you can always take me along for some amusement.” Anissa offered laughingly.

 

“I used to be a pizza delivery boy. What else can you do? How well can you defend yourself?” Glenn asked and Anissa shrugged, not quite sure how to describe her skills. She wasn't amazing, but she managed to safe her ass when needed to be.

 

“I'm alright, I guess. I'm terrible with guns, but give me a knife and I'm good.” Rick nodded in approval, “I figured when I saw you fighting out there last night. What do you say? Feel like joining us to burn them?” He asked as he nodded to the pile of walkers.

 

Anissa nodded casually, not having anything else to do anyway. “Count me in.” Rick nodded gratefully, “Great, meet us at the gate in an hour.” Anissa nodded her agreement and set off once more, willing to bring just a few more walkers to the pile before they'd take the first load away.

 


End file.
